Philippines Prez Flies in the Face of Coldplay’s Eco Efforts by Taking Helicopter to Gig

Manila’s notoriously bad traffic is so bad that, at a Coldplay concert north of the Philippines’ capital city on Friday night, singer Chris Martin performed a song about it.

One person who was able to beat the rush to reach the Philippine Arena in Bulacan for the show was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who decided to travel by helicopter. Pictures showing Marcos, his wife, and others arriving in the chopper sparked an angry backlash online from Filipinos who accused the president of wasting government resources on an evening out.

“Yesterday, the Philippine Arena experienced an unprecedented influx of 40,000 individuals eagerly attending a concert, resulting in unforeseen traffic complications along the route,” Maj. Gen. Nelson Morales, the head of Marcos’ Presidential Security Group (PSG), said in a statement Saturday, according to the official Philippine News Agency. “Recognizing that this traffic situation posed a potential threat to the security of our President, the PSG took decisive action by opting for the presidential chopper,” he added.

Read more at The Daily Beast.